I’ve been helping people… hundreds of thousands of people… discover the best places in the world to enjoy the lifestyles of their dreams for more than 30 years.

Each story is different… and lately I’ve been hearing some great ones…

George Is Escaping Winter In San Miguel De Allende

Your fellow reader George Gammel, for example, made the move from Denver to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, in April this year.

George attended our Retire Overseas Conference in 2016, where he met our man on the ground in Mexico, Jim Hardesty.

“I found the help and friendship of Jim to be of great value,” George says today.

“I did encounter a few speed bumps along the way. They call them ‘tope’ in Mexico. But I finally found a good rental house with the help of Jim’s wife. I’m getting into the routines of new social circles with my bridge and mah-jongg game playing.

“All in all, I am coming to love living in San Miguel.

“As we move closer to winter, I really appreciate the climate here as opposed to the snow back in Denver!

“Now I want to work on learning some Spanish. I don’t really need it here, but it would be helpful.

“I have gotten into two of the investment options that were featured at the conference. It is nice to have some investments outside the United States, especially in these troubled times.

“It is comforting to be away from all that bad stuff in the United States. Now I can look at the news and think to myself, I’m glad I am where I am.

“It is truly wonderful to just enjoy life and get wrapped up in another culture. I have found a new permanent home here in Mexico. Thanks so much for the services you guys provided to help get me here!”

Mary’s Moving To Cayo, Belize

Another fellow reader, Mary Arnold, is planning her move to Belize, where she has purchased a cottage at Carmelita Gardens.

“I’ve been to two of your conferences,” Mary explains. “Both were so enjoyable that I’m thinking of attending them yearly or even more often as vacations. Until you’ve experienced one, you cannot imagine how efficient and smoothly run a conference can be and how much fun.

“As a 70-year-old widow,” Mary continues, “I did not feel that I could make this move alone. It just seemed too daunting. That was after the first conference.

“But the dream of moving offshore kept pulling at me so I went to another conference. That’s where I heard about Carmelita Gardens’ new project with the cottages. I went by the information table to meet with Phil Hahn and Jaime.

“I had already decided that I wanted one of these ‘tiny houses,’ but there was never any pressure at this table or any of the others. I picked my lot and put my money down. From that first encounter I’ve been very blessed with the personal relationship with Phil and Jaime, and now they’ve put me in touch with Con Murphy, whose helpful office provides the most attentive legal services.

“I’m now 72. I have been a registered nurse for over 40 years. I am also a certified adrenaline junkie, and now I’m ready to fish, hike, and kayak in the Cayo District in Belize.

“I will move into my new home when the paperwork and arrangements are complete. It’s looking like the end of November.

“This has not been daunting at all. Live and Invest Overseas and Carmelita Gardens and all associated with them have integrity and knowledge that they easily share. No hidden agendas. My only regret is that I did not do this 10 years ago.”

Holly’s Giving Back And Creating A New Future In Nicaragua

Holly Wilson worked for 30 years as a social worker in California. At our Retire Overseas Conference last year she attended the workshop on Nicaragua and spoke with Mike Cobb about service and volunteer opportunities in that country.

“Mike and I emailed and talked after the conference,” Mary explains, “and he invited me to come work with his firm’s Gran Pacifica development community on Nicaragua’s Pacific Coast to help with all the corporate social responsibility projects the company does.

“That was nearly a year ago. Over that time, I have been discovering what great people Nicaraguans are. I have assisted in the schools, gathered donations, and worked with many volunteer and non-profit groups coming here. I have learned some Spanish and dropped 20 pounds.

“My future is definitely here in Nicaragua.”

Ray And His Wife Are In Love With Medellín

Before attending last year’s Retire Overseas Conference, Ray Smith and his wife had never considered Colombia. At the event, they met Felipe Gutiérrez from Medellín.

“Felipe and his brother Juan Darío have an investment company in Medellín,” Ray says. “We were impressed enough by these guys that we acted on one of the investments they told us about. We made the decision to invest even though we’d never been to Medellín!

“And I am happy to say that we have been extremely pleased with the results so far.

“After returning home from the conference, we decided we should actually go to Colombia. We were planning on staying for one month but enjoyed it so much that we stayed for two.

“We met several expats in the city, and Felipe showed us around a bit. While there, we made another investment with Felipe and Juan Darío. Now we are looking into moving to Medellín full time. It is a very beautiful city and a wonderful climate.

“After the conference, we also made an investment in Panama. We took a trip to Panama, too, but decided that Medellín is more to our liking.

“Again, we really enjoyed the conference, and had it not been for that we would not have done all these things we’ve now done, which I can say have been very advantageous to us.”

Panama, Here We Come!

Fellow reader Cheryl Kacy writes:

“My husband Steve and I will by moving to Panama in two weeks! We have sold everything (house, cars, furniture, etc.) and will be heading to Puerto Armuelles after a short stay in Panama City to apply for our pensionado visas.

“The Vegas conference last year really motivated us to get going. We couldn’t be more excited.”

This Is An Infinitely Customizable Idea

After more than 30 years at this, however, I have noticed one important common denominator. Not once in my career have I heard anyone express regret at having made the decision to try a new life or to diversify abroad.

The only regret I hear from folks… and Mary made this point when sharing her story above… is that they didn’t make the move sooner.

Time is a precious thing, and the more time we have living the life we want, where we want, the better…

Kathleen Peddicord has covered the live, retire, and do business overseas beat for more than 30 years and is considered the world's foremost authority on these subjects. She has traveled to more than 75 countries, invested in real estate in 21, established businesses in 7, renovated historic properties in 6, and educated her children in 4.

Kathleen has moved children, staff, enterprises, household goods, and pets across three continents, from the East Coast of the United States to Waterford, Ireland... then to Paris, France... next to Panama City, where she has based her Live and Invest Overseas business. Most recently, Kathleen and her husband Lief Simon are dividing their time between Panama and Paris.

Kathleen was a partner with Agora Publishing’s International Living group for 23 years. In that capacity, she opened her first office overseas, in Waterford, Ireland, where she managed a staff of up to 30 employees for more than 10 years. Kathleen also opened, staffed, and operated International Living publishing and real estate marketing offices in Panama City, Panama; Granada, Nicaragua; Roatan, Honduras; San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; Quito, Ecuador; and Paris, France.

Kathleen moved on from her role with Agora in 2007 and launched her Live and Invest Overseas group in 2008. In the years since, she has built Live and Invest Overseas into a successful, recognized, and respected multi-million-dollar business that employs a staff of 35 in Panama City and dozens of writers and other resources around the world.

Kathleen has been quoted by The New York Times, Money magazine, MSNBC, Yahoo Finance, the AARP, and beyond. She has appeared often on radio and television (including Bloomberg and CNBC) and speaks regularly on topics to do with living, retiring, investing, and doing business around the world.

In addition to her own daily e-letter, the Overseas Opportunity Letter, with a circulation of more than 300,000 readers, Kathleen writes regularly for U.S. News & World Report and Forbes.